Right-angled welt



ET AL C. F. BATCHELDER, JR.

RIGHT-ANGLED WELT Filed March 16, 1949 Aug. 7, 1951 Patented Aug. 7,1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RIGHT-ANGLED WELT Charles F.Batchclder, Jr., Milton, and Lothrop Withington, Jr., Brookline, Mass.,assignors to Wright-Batchelder Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporationof Massachusetts Application March 16, 1949, Serial No. 81,658

2 Claims.

Our present invention is directed to the'construction of welts for usein the manufacture of boots and shoes, and more particularly to thegeneral type of pre-formed welt of synthetic plastic materialillustrated in the patent to W. C. Wright No. 2,448,165 dated August 31,1948.

In the manufacture of shoe welts it is most desirable to secure theconfiguration and construction of welt structure which will press theupper materials snugly along the angular recess formed circumferentiallyby the intersection of the feather edge and sewing rib of a welt insole,and also to have the outsole-attaching portion of the welt afterinseaming stand substantially horizontally from the lasted shoe toeffect and maintain a positive contact with the outsole and therebyeliminate the need of any beating-out operation.

We have discovered that the shoemaking limitations, difficulties, andobjections of such a generally right-angled or L-shaped weltconstruction as shown in said prior patent can be largely or entirelyeliminated by incorporating a new principle in the designof thecross-section of a shoe welt of this type.

In actual practice we find that the right-angled or L-shaped weltconstruction as shown in said prior patent requires an unusual andavoidable amount of care to set the inseam stitching along a linepassing thru the center of twist between the horizontal or body portionof the welt and the vertical or inseam stitch-receiving portion in orderto hold the body portion at the desired outstanding position relative tothe lasted shoe and, hence, to save the beating-out operation.

Also, we have found that a right-angled welt as described in said priorpatent, unless it is positioned and stitched with great care and skill,tends to wrap around the toe during the inseaming operation.Furthermore, we have found that it is inherent in an L-shaped welt witha groove in or near the interior angle of the L, that the inseam, aftertrimming, leaves a ridge that holds the outsole away from theoutstanding outsolestitch-receiving portion of the welt. This bridgingeffect tends to cause the welt to pull away from the edge of theoutsole. This separation is apt to develop gradually during the periodafter the operation of sole-laying and before the shoes areGoodyear-stitched. This separation is most undesirable because itcreates an opening in which chips of the material removed during theroughrounding operation are apt to be caught. Any chips caught betweenthe welt and the outsole are held by the cemented surfaces and must bere- -moved by hand. The separation of welt and out- 2 sole also createsdrag during the rough-rounding and Goodyear-stitching operations,causing these operations to be performed with decreased speed andaccuracy.

We have also found that a right-angled welt of the type described in theprior patent inherently leads the operator to trim the inseam relativelyhigh above the outstanding body portion of the welt, thereby causing abridging effect which results in an obvious and objectionably greatdegree of slope in the upper surface of the welt afterGoodyear-stitching.

We have discovered that these several difficulties can be obviated andentirely overcome by our present form of shoe welt construction, whichform, while preferably embodied in a synthetic plastic type of weltwhich can be extruded and readily made from pliable stitch-retainingmaterial, could also be advantageously produced from leather or othersuitable material by cutting, trimming, and molding to secure thedesired crosssection and obtain the advantages of our present invention.

Our present improvement takes cognizance of the fact that some slope isinherent in the upper surface of a welt of the hinge type after it hasbeen inseamed and Goodyear-stitched. Our improvement takes advantage ofthis necessary final result by making a right-angled or hinged type weltwith a slight, but a definite, though hardly noticeable slope downwardand outward from the inner corner which contacts the shoe upper, Thislowering of the outstanding body of the welt with relation to itsvertical inseam-receiving portion lowers the center of twist of thecross-section to a level approximately at the mid point of the face ofthe hinge which is in contact with the lasted upper at inseaming andabout which the outstanding body of the welt must be bent horizontallyto conform to the contour of the shoe. This new and novel relationshipbetween the hinge portion and the outstanding body portion we have foundto be essential to the construction of a welt of this type, whereby theinseam stitching can be set by unskilled operators thru a considerablerange either above or below the mid-point of the inseam-receiving orvertical portion of the welt, and at the same time hold the outstandingbody portion in the desired approximately horizontal position evenaround the toe and other curved contours of the shoe.

In carrying out our present improvement, we form a welt of generallyright-angled construction in cross-section with the horizontal or bodyportion, and the vertical or inseam-receiving portion, preferably at anangle slightly less than 90. Thus, when the inseaming is applied, theoutwardly extending or body portion of the welt is automaticallyinclined slightly downward and is inherently impelled in close contactwith the outsole which is subsequently to be attached. Our form of W ltconstruction also enables the inseamer to set the inseam threadcomparatively deeper and, thus, permits a comparatively closer cuttingat the inseam trimming operation. These two features cooperate to bringthe welt into positive contact with the outsole along its edge, and witha minimum degree of slope in the upper surface of the welt afterGoodyear stitching. 7

A further feature of our invention consists of shaping the upper innercorner formed by the intersection of the upper surface of theoutstanding body portion and the vertical face of the welt into arounded upwardly an inwardly bulging lengthwise rim or low ridge. Thisbulging rim together with a slight concavity of the vertical face of thewelt cooperates to concentrate the pressure created by the inseamingoperation at the bulging corner of the welt, thereby forcing the lastedupper and lining firmly and tightly into the corner between the featheredge of the insole and the sewing rib, and insuring a satisfactory fitand union at this vital point in welt shoe manufacture, by pressing thebulging corner of the welt into the upper materials on the lasted shoe.7

A still further feature of our present invention consists in theprovision of ,an increased thickness in the body portion of the weltalong.

that line which receives the outsole stitching. This feature is readilyeffected by increasing slightly the thickness at the under side of theshoe welt where the outsole stitching is set. Such supporting of theGoodyear stitching is possible because the slanting inclinationwidthwise of the welt would otherwise leave a triangular tunnel-l'ikecavity where the outstanding portion of the welt is bridged out over theupper surface of the outsole.

This increased thickness provides strength where it is most needed andminimizes the tendency of the outsole Goodyear stitching to create avalley in the surface of the welt in the finished shoe. By a gradualsloping of the under surface from the thickened area towards the innerangle of the L-shaped welt a natural open channel is provided to receivethe inseam-attaching stitch without creating a gutter that would be ahazard in Goodyear stitching.

The features embodied in our present invention are most importanttoimprove and perfect a Welt of the right-angle type, as they combine tomake a Welt with a radically improved and superior cross-section basedon a novel principle which automatically insures the correct positioningof the body portion of the welt in its outsole-attaching relation,without any beatingout operation, and greatly facilitates theinseamstitching operation.

We believe that it is a distinct novelty in this art to form andconstruct a shoe welt of the kind described and of any material whereinthe horizontally extending body portion and vertically extendinginseam-attaching portion are preformed at an angle preferably less than90, as herein shown and described.

We also believe that the forming of the corner edge at the juncturebetween the horizontal body portion and the vertical inseam-receiving 4portion into a pronounced bulge or ridge is a unique improvement.

We also believe it to be a distinct novelty to form the inseam-attachingface with a slight predetermined concavity which acts in cooperationwith the ridge corner to concentrate the pressure of inseaming along thecorner.

Furthermore, we believe that the formation of the body portion of thewelt with a substantially increased thickness along the line where theoutsole stitching is set, and the inclination .of the bottom surfacetoward the stitch-receiving groove are important and novel features ofour improved welt design.

We wish to claim all of the foregoing features broadly herein as well asin cooperative combination.

Referring to the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of ourpresent invention:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of our improved shoe welt;

Fig. 2 is a view in cross-section of a part .of a last and shoe, shownin cross-section, together with the welt after the inseaming operation,also in cross-section;

Fig. 3 is a corresponding fragmentary crosssectional view showing thewelt attached to an outsole; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of our improved welt.

As shown in the drawings, our welt comprises a substantiallyright-angled construction with a horizontally extending body portion land a vertically extending inseam-attaching portion 2, these twoportions merging into a curved bulge or corner 3 forming a ridge with ,aportion preferably extending slightly above the plane of the fmain bodyof the horizontal outsole-attaching portion 1. The angle thus formed maybe, and preferably is less than ninety degrees.

Preferably, this ridge-like effect 3 is formed by inclining, slanting,or thickening the adjacent part of the body portion I as indicated at l,thus serving to constitute a corner or bulge lengthwise of the welt,which greatly facilitates the snug-fitting of the welt when drawn to thesewing rib of of the welt insole during the inseaming action.

A stitch-receiving groove 5 on the underneath corner of the portions land 2 is positioned and arranged to cooperate with the inseam-attachingportion between the points A and B of the concave face 9 of the verticalportion 2, thereby affording a considerable range either side of. the

line of twist for the inseam stitching, where it may draw or force andhold the bulge .3 snugly into position against the sewing rib, whilealso automatically holding the .body portion I ex- I tendinghorizontally or slightly downwardly for better contact with the outsole.

As shown in Fig. .2, illustrating a portion of the last 10, insole I2,and upper materials 6 and I, our welt is attached to a sewing rib M onthe insole by inseam stitching [5. As herein illustrated, the .cornerportion ,3 with the bulge which extends partly .above the horizontalbody portion 1, as shown .at 4, will be drawn snugly into the cornerbetween the sewing :rib and the feather part of the insole [2, thusholding the upper 6 and lining 1 in firm contact in this corner, whichnot .only gives a strong, smooth, solid union but also eifects aseam-filling and moisture-proofing v:contact at this part of the shoe.

The concave face 9 permits the inseam stitching to beset from the groove5 thru the part 2 with a considerable range-as from A to B,and

still act on the bulge 3 as a fulcrum to tend to leverage the bodyportion l outwardly and downwardly.

The projecting part of the upper materials and. the sewing rib l4 andedge of the vertical portion 2 of the welt are then trimmed and fillingit applied, an outsole 18 positioned, and the outsole stitching 2b isset to complete the shoe-soling operation, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The increased thickness for the outsole stitching 20, as shown at 2| and22, is also important as giving greater strength and insuring firmcontact between the bottom of the outstanding body portion of the welt lwith the top of the outsole 18.

From the point substantially as indicated at 22 to the groove 5, thispart of our improved welt is formed on a bevel or slant as indicated at25 to merge with the walls of the groove 5. This construction tends toprevent the stitching needle, when applying the outseam 20, from tendingto be drawn or sucked into the inseam stitching [5 in the groove 5.

It will thus be appreciated that our novel and improved construction ofa shoe welt approXi-- mating a right-angled conformation, but with thebody portion and vertically extending portions being united to form abulge or corner, preferably at an angle somewhat less than ninetydegrees, facilitates the snug fitting of the corner 3 of the welt intoclose contact with the lasted upper against the inseam rib of welt shoeconstruction. Also these features greatly facilitate the ease, speed,and efficiency of the inseam-- attaching operation, as well as insuringthe extending of the horizontal body portion into outsole-engagingposition, independently of the beating-out operation and effecting atight union at the outer edge of both welt and outsole.

The relatively large range for inseaming thru the vertically extendingconcave face 9 of the part 2, in cooperation with the bulge 3 and sewinggroove 5, is of great importance, as any inseam-stitching within thatrange automatically holds our welt with the horizontal body portion iextending into a slightly downwardly inclined position for contact upon,and union with, the outer edge of the outsole, the bulge 3 acting as afulcrum during the inseaming operation.

We claim:

1. A shoe welt of plasticized, polymerized resin having characteristicsequivalent to polyvinyl chloride, said welt being substantiallyrightangled in construction and comprising a substan tially horizontaloutsole attaching member, a substantially vertical inseam attachingmember having a concave face, a rounded corner bulge on 6 the outercorner between the two said members, a stitch receiving groove in theinner corner between the two saicl members, said outsole attachingmember being substantially fiat on its upper surface and on its undersurface being bevelled from its mid-portion outwardly to form a taper,whereby inseam stitching said welt to an insole sewing rib of a Goodyearwelt shoe causes said concave face and said bulge to cooperate with saidstitches to form a positive compression lock in the corner of the insolefeather and the insole sewing rib, and whereby the out-seam stitchingwill draw the tapered portion of the outsole attaching member intocontact with the outsole without curling the outer portion thereofupwardly.

A shoe welt of plasticized, polymerized resin, having characteristicsequivalent to polyvinyl chloride, said welt being substantiallyrightangled in construction and comprising a substantially horizontaloutsole attaching member, a substantially vertical inseam attachingmember having a concave face, a rounded corner bulge on the outer cornerbetween the two said members, astitch receiving groove in the innercorner between the two said members, whereby inseam stitching said weltto an insole sewing rib of a Goodyear welt shoe causes said concave faceand said bulge to cooperate with said stitches to form a positivecompression lock in the corner of the insole feather and the insolesowing rib.

CHARLES F. BATCHELDER, JR. LOTI-IROP WITHINGTON, J R.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 12,685 Reynolds Aug. 27, 1907D. 141,974 Wright Aug. 7, 1945 453,985 Seaver June 9, 1891 1,169,085Davis Jan. 18, 1916 1,308,804 Moulton July 8, 1919 1,408,797 Blake 1-Mar. 7, 1922 1,610,215 Dvilnsky Dec. '7, 1926 2,148,602 Brown Feb. 28,1939 2,399,086 Wright Apr. 23, .1946 2,438,095 Phinney Mar. 16, 19482,448,165 Wright Aug. 31, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date204,957 Great Britain Oct. 11, 1923

